So what do you pray for? A last-minute goal, salvation from EastEnders or simply a little divine intervention on that dreaded flight?

Nearly half of us pray regularly and 38 per cent say they feel peaceful afterwards. So we asked our star columnists what gets them on their knees. With, good heavens, some surprising results...

Sue Carroll

The last time I prayed was watching the Remembrance Day ceremony at the Cenotaph on TV yesterday.

I was alone in my kitchen but I spoke the Lord's Prayer along with the thousands congregated in The Mall.

There's something extraordinarily powerful, moving and uplifting about a mass of people coming together in prayer and I truly believe it's a force for good.

Certainly, as a nervous flyer, I never board an aircraft without saying a few quiet words to Him upstairs and I did pray for England in the Rugby World Cup final. Clearly our Lord wasn't listening.

I should thank God more often for my health, friends and family but that's the thing about prayer - it's always there for you when you need it.

Fiona Phillips

The last time I prayed was yesterday afternoon as I willed Didier Drogba to score another goal for Chelsea in their match against Everton.

Unfortunately, it didn't work. The score remained at 1-1.

I'm more a believer in fate than I am in prayer. I think religion has caused far too much heartache around the world for me to want to pray to any God.

That said, I was confirmed as a child and my mum brought me up with good Christian values. I stand by those values and morals, but without the religion.

I speak to my mum who died last year and I whisper "Thank you" under my breath whenever something special happens in my life, or I think of my two lovely children.

I'm just not sure who it is that I'm thanking.

Brian Reade

I pray for world peace - otherwise known as George Bush being incarcerated in a padded cell. I pray for justice - Tony Blair being thrown in with him.

I pray Britain becomes a republic with Dennis Skinner as president and Tubthumping the national anthem.

I pray they bring back The Sopranos and remake The Thick Of It with Chris Langham as the lead. I pray Maggie Thatcher has her charge sheet read out at the Pearly Gates before dropping into the bowels of Hell.

I pray someone will explain how Parky has the gall to pick up his wages, Ant and Dec haven't been sussed and Sharon Osbourne hasn't been shot. Most of all, I pray that God remembers he is a Kopite and returns the League title to its spiritual home.

David Edwards

The number of times I drop to my knees and offer entreaties skyward is directly related to how many Jude Law films I'm forced to sit through each year.

There are no stained-glass windows or pulpits in my church, just Dolby surround sound and the whirr of a projector. The pews have flip-up seats, the congregation is made of film critics and the sacrament comes in sweet or salted.

Last week, I was praying more fervently than ever before while watching Jude's new film, a positively unholy remake of Sleuth. Sweet Lord, it was like staring into the pits of hell.

My benedictions were offered to the modern-day gods of Hollywood, hoping they would deliver us all from this whiny nonactor who hasn't made a decent film since Noah set sail.

Jim Shelley

Unlike the majority of people featured in this survey, praying does not make me feel "peaceful". I tend to pray only in moments of extreme agitation and fury.

During EastEnders for example - when it seems only the intervention of the Good Lord himself could provide a decent line of dialogue or realistic character.

"Help me, Jesus," I will cry, "To make it through to the end of this Sunday afternoon omnibus."

There are times when I'm watching Heartbeat, Rosemary & Thyme or anything starring Caroline Quentin, when I would happily pray for a new series of The Shield or just one great British cop show like The Sweeney.

And I'd probably join a monastery if I thought I could get the likes of Jordan and Claire Sweeney deported.

Kevin Maguire

Go out in clean underwear in case you're knocked over and end up in hospital. And say a little prayer every day if you want God to look after you.

Mam's two bits of advice leave me wondering if the supposed creator suffers road rage, playing Death Race 2000 with unbelievers.

I'm one of those agnostics/ atheists who whispers little prayers when I need a favour. It might be someone's ill or I'm hoping the nutter on the train doesn't spot me. Or Sunderland need another goal.

Sometimes I offer to be good in return - like giving up swearing or being nicer to people. Illogical but I can't get out of the habit, like saying a poet's name and counting from 10 backwards when seeing a lone magpie.

Come to think of it, praying to a God who doesn't exist is the least of my problems.

Alex Curran

I'm not particularly religious so I don't really pray at all - apart from when I have to get on a plane. That's a different matter altogether.

I know it's irrational, but I am absolutely petrified of flying.

I always have been, ever since I was a little girl.

Everything about it scares me, the take-off, the landing. It has me in knots.

So whenever I've got to jet off somewhere, I say a silent little prayer that nothing will go wrong and everyone will get there safely and in one piece.

Whether it works or not I'm not sure, all I know is it helps calm me down.